It could also allow for the use of a series of physical gestures as a "password" before allowing a command gesture

You could lock someone out of their account by breaking their arm!

A 'password' of physical gestures is just represented by some bits in a computer. It would be simple to have a backup keyboard workaround. But there wouldn't be much point in getting access for command gestures, if you couldn't make the command gestures anyways.

You don't think the ability to detect human body positions through walls in a residential setting, like an apartment, is going to cause any issues?

That technology already exists. If you are that worried about it, buy a shit load of aluminum foil.

Gold foil would probably work better. Gold is a better reflector of infrared, so they can't scan your house with infrared thermal cameras, and an excellent conductor to form a Faraday cage against sensors like this. Plus, you'll be TEMPEST certified, guaranteed, and the envy of rappers everywhere when you coat your house with it.

As a gesture recognition system, I can imagine some limited use for this. If the resolution and positioning are accurate enough to recognize when someone's looking directly at their television, and making a very specific gesture, towards their television while doing so, then hey maybe you can... change the volume up or down or something.

But imagine this being used to see through walls as spying tool. Now THAT seems incredibly useful in the right scenarios for the right people. Wifi beaming drones that can see through walls anyone?

Forget the dog, I don't want to turn my TV on and off every time I stretch. Especially if I'm in another room.

Any consumer application for this would have to be very short-range IMO, or remotely turned on/off somehow (maybe that's where the minority report glove could come in). Say I have some friends over and there's 6 of us crowded around my TV. I imagine many run-of-the-mill gestures would occur that could drive the thing crazy were it programmed to accept similar gestures.

My two-year-old brother once bought a PPV movie without this technology. I fear that this new technology will make it easier for him to buy movies and for me to cry because of my TV bill (yes, I pay my parents' TV bill).

Reminds me of a Continuum episode from the first season where the protagonist used the cell-phone signal from a nearby tower to reconstruct what was happening inside a building. Maybe not as sci-fi as it appeared back then after all.

Reminds me of a Continuum episode from the first season where the protagonist used the cell-phone signal from a nearby tower to reconstruct what was happening inside a building. Maybe not as sci-fi as it appeared back then after all.

In a non-imaging configuration like this, you're basically looking at changes in the resonance of the wifi signal through a building. By having a subject move around in predefined ways, the change in the spatial distribution of the reflected signals can be mapped out with great sensitivity. I actually worked on something similar for a very different application ages ago. It really does work because interferometric effects like this are incredibly sensitive to small changes.

But the thing is, it depends very precisely on the state of the surrounding not changing between calibration and measurement. Its not robust like an imaging system because EVERYTHING in the surrounding area feeds into the signal you measure, not just target. You have to be able to measure the background and remove it otherwise you can't make sense of what you observe. So better hope there aren't more people moving around, no one moves a couch or opens a door, and the weather doesn't change too much or you're going to have to redo the whole calibration.

Think about alternative uses for this. Something as simple as using detectors in a nightclub to fashion some sort of living light show (now THAT could be entertaining and cool), or for more practical uses, mobility for the handicapped, or military use in activating remote sensors.

Or even for traffic lights, to detect the flow of traffic in various directions, so you dont get those annoying red lights at 3am when there's no traffic in sight. The WiFi detection doesnt have to be just physical gestures, it can just be for detection in general.

While I'm sure there are lots of ways in which this could be abused as with all technology, I think it's a pretty cool and novel idea and a pretty amazing application of machine learning. Seems like it could also be pretty useful as a security mechanism as well. Maybe as some sort of motion detection or intrusion alert. Set it to vacation mode and have it e-mail you if it detects some sort of unexpected movement.

Or even for traffic lights, to detect the flow of traffic in various directions, so you dont get those annoying red lights at 3am when there's no traffic in sight. The WiFi detection doesnt have to be just physical gestures, it can just be for detection in general.

Using radio for proximity detection! We should call it something catchy. How about "Radar?"

Or even for traffic lights, to detect the flow of traffic in various directions, so you dont get those annoying red lights at 3am when there's no traffic in sight. The WiFi detection doesnt have to be just physical gestures, it can just be for detection in general.

Using radio for proximity detection! We should call it something catchy. How about "Radar?"

We've had the technology since the 1940's. It is a huge disappointment that Ars ran the story (I made a joke about /. running it earlier today in the iPhone ban thread).

Seriously, nearly every time you walk into a grocery store, you're using exactly this "gesture recognition" technology. At least the door opener is in a more optimal frequency range than your microwave.

When I want to wire up my house with defence turrets I'll be sure to use a future version of this. I assume they'll have worked in IFF by then.Reminds me of movies where invisible people break into places. This is an alternative to the infrared camera they usually use. What if the infiltrators are using a temperature shielding suit? What then!?WiSee, that's what!